Proficiency exams in the four skills (reading, speaking, writing, and listening) are given 3 times during the academic year: in September, at the beginning of the fall semester, in December, during the last week of classes of the fall semester, and during the last week of classes of the spring semester. At the beginning of the spring semester these proficiency exams will be given only to new incoming students. The Listening and Writing proficiency exams are taken in the same day, usually one after the other. The Reading proficiency exam presents two or more texts dealing with SAIS-related subjects and with questions to be answered in English. The exam takes about two hours. In the Writing proficiency exam students will be asked to write short messages as well as a 300-400-word long essay about a subject presented during class discussions and dealing with SAIS-related subjects. The exam will take about one hour. In the Listening proficiency exam students will first read the questions and answer them after listening again to the material presented. In the Speaking proficiency exam the student will discuss topics relative to SAIS-specific subjects, and be prepared to explain and defend his/her ideas to the examining panel. This exam takes at most 30 minutes.
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